Time to go all-in with FAAB bidding

I mention in my new Sports Weekly column that the way the calendar sets up this year, the July 31 trade deadline forces fantasy owners to make a difficult decision: Jump at the chance to pick up a player affected by the previous week's trade ... or wait to see if a bigger fish is available as a result of a deadline deal.

This is a major -- perhaps even season-altering -- decision for those in AL- or NL-only leagues, but owners in mixed leagues can also be affected.

In the Leagues of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR), I had plenty of FAAB dollars remaining in all three formats. Here's how that money was spent:

This was the easiest decision. Zack Greinke coming over from the NL was the plum pick. Sandlot Shrink's Larry Schechter and I both had $73 FAAB and since I'm lower in the standings (10th out of 12 teams), I win the tiebreaker. Unfortunately, it bankrupts me for the rest of the season because LABR doesn't allow $0 bids.

Greinke probably won't propel my team to a championship (as Ron Shandler points out in this week's Fanalytics column). But since I already have decent stats in the pitching categories, I managed to work a trade before our weekly deadline: SP Ivan Nova and SS Ramon Santiago for SS J.J. Hardy. The addition of Hardy and Greinke make my roster stronger in two places.

A more difficult decision, as I'm sitting in fourth place with the third-most FAAB remaining. There have been no impact players cross over to the NL yet, but Pirates prospect Starling Marte was available.

My outfield has been a weak spot -- especially Brian Bogusevic of the Astros (.214, 6 HR, 22 RBI). Near the bottom of the league in batting average and involved a tight battle in the rest of the hitting categories, Marte could be a nice upgrade.

Sensing that I wouldn't have a chance to compete for any major trade deadline league-switchers, I considered the pros and cons of making a play for Marte. I originally put in a $60 bid (of my $83) when Marte was originally called up and forgot about it. Imagine my surprise when I put in just for him at $5 right before the transaction deadline and ended up winning him -- for $60. Still, I had to make a bold move and Marte is probably my best chance to do it.

League-switchers aren't a factor in mixed leagues -- and the player pool is much deeper. But the guy who intrigued me the most as I'm part of a torrid five-way battle for the top spot is Mets pitcher Matt Harvey. He struck out 11 batters in 5 1/3 innings in his major league debut.

While no one should put too much emphasis on one start, I put in a $19 bid on Harvey (I had $54) as much to add him to my team -- and reverse my recent slide in wins and K's -- as it was to keep him away from the rest of the league. It turns out I bid considerably more than anyone else did ... but hey, you can't take your FAAB dollars with you when the season ends. We may see how smart the move was when Harvey makes his first start for me tonight in San Francisco.

Perhaps that's the lesson here: Use it or lose it ... and waiting until a better deal comes along could very easily leave a fantasy owner with nothing.

For more detailed analysis of the FAAB bids in LABR, check out the weekly roundup from Mastersball.com.

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About Steve Gardner

Steve's been with USA TODAY in one form or another since 1993. He started
at USATODAY.com in 1996, becoming the website's baseball editor in 1999, and
has written the fantasy baseball column for Sports Weekly since 2006. Follow
him on Twitter: @sgardnerUSAT.